CBS: Smaller Shows, Bigger Film Division

UPDATE: You asked, I’ll answer. I’ve just learned that CBS has demanded that each existing TV show — even the hit ones — reduce their budgets for next year, if renewed. This may mean smaller writing staffs. Meanwhile, Hollywood has been speculating about the future of the new CBS feature division. I’m told, “All systems go”. Not only are there no layoffs, but there are actually additions as the division heads into production. Shooting begins April 7th on its first motion picture, a medical drama starring Harrison Ford. And its second pic, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez, starts principal photography in May.

Are we seeing the beginning of the end for TV shows? Feels like it, lately…

Sitcom Writer • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

CBS, the network with the most successful shows, thinks cutting back on the writing staff is a good idea. Does that make sense?

Here's a thought • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

How about they just get off their butts in the sales department and stop relying on car advertising to ‘drive’ the network? It hasn’t been the Tiffany Network in years, but there’s still some quality there. If they skimp, they’re just going to lose more eyeballs, faster.

JD • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

It’s pretty bad when a television network wants to ignore TV in order to “do features”. My question is – will their movies be available to other premium cable channels or strictly be shown on Showtime? Either way, I wish them luck. As an audience member, I have more entertainment options to choose from nowadays so – if anybody wants my business – they have to put on their “A” game.

Warner Borg • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

Tomorrow is the 1st of April. Is anyone else expecting to read a press release tomorrow morning from CBS telling us that their film division was an eleborate April Fools Day joke?

My advice to ol’ Les if he’s hurting for cash is shutter the CW and sell the entire schedule to NBC next Xmas when their Jay Leno experiment goes up in smoke.

Anyone else feel that Supernatural and Gossip Girl could do great business on NBC?

TJ • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

Hopefully this will mean that the overpaid “stars” will be bumped aside for talented, less-known harder workers.

Or, why not just another reality show with Paris, or even LiLo? No scripts needed there.

Methinks that old Les Moonves is taking his eye off the ball. CBS is fundamentally a TV company, not a movie studio, and while studio bosses may still get better tables for their lunch meetings, it doesn’t make it okay to forget what business you are really in.

beluga jones • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

seen it before. welcome back to the 70’s.

recession and bad news = one thing. . . MOW

TvFan • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

CBS should start by reducing Les enormous salary first then ask everyone else to reduce their salary. Seems only fair.

Scripted TV shows have already been declining since the early 2000s since the start of reality TV.

nyguy • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

Jennifer Lopez still makes movies? How? Why?

TJ • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

That means reduce salaries for EVERYONE. No exceptions.

Anonymous • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

wow, that film slate is really impressive…..

brian • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

It will be interesting to see if some of the shows like Cold Case, Without a Trace and maybe even CSI are canceled and replaced with less expensive AFTRA shows or Canadian co-produced efforts like Flashpoint. All the labor problems are not going to result in more jobs for actors, writers or anyone else as the corporations seek to stabilize their income streams.

ms.xram • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

oh Yes. THE CBS IMOW (INTERNET MOVIE OF THE WEEK) is the future …..

Boomzilla • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

Is it possible CBS is making these movies to flesh out Showtime’s pathetic feature lineup? Seems unlikely, but who knows. “Dexter” (currently not even in reruns) and some of the other series are OK, but Showtime theatricals generally either suck or I have seen them in theaters and don’t want to bother. Separately, I expect Paramount won’t be too happy about having to handle additional theatrical distribution. Harrison Ford in anything but an Indiana Jones movie? I don’t think so.

D-Girls Go ByeBye??? • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

Perhaps Les should consider shuttering their development offices and just let Chuck Lorre and Anthony Zuiker continue to create all of their shows without the meddling of assistants who got their executive jobs because they rose through the ranks because they didn’t piss anyone off. Or better yet, just let the writers pitch their shows to the focus groups and cut out the middle-men, er, middle-ladies who seem to consistently do more harm than good in the development process. let’s be real here, the problem with the development process is that it’s shepherded by execs without a creative instinct in their being. not bitter, just objective… for real.

Ace • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

@ Michael…

No, TV shows won’t end. But the networks have been pushing “reality” crap shows down the public’s throat for years now – all to save a buck (make more profit). They know well that the public will eat (and like) any of the shite fed them, as long as it’s touted to be the new cool thing. Like “reality shows”.

(You’ll note that I use quotation marks around the words reality and show – as most of us in the industry know, these programs are far from reality.)

Well, now that “reality show” shine has rubbed off of the belt buckle and the networks are left with “what do we do NOW?” They’ve made their bed and they have to lay in it. They’ve evaporated everything down to the lowest common denominator with “reality” programming and have trained (told) the public to like it.

But the public has had enough. TV viewership is WAAAAAY down. “There’s nothing good on”, they say. But when good/decent pilots air to mediocre numbers, those shows are canceled before they have a fleeting chance at finding an audience. That’s probably the effect of limited ad dollars, and sponsors too quick to pull the “cancel” trigger based on the archaic Neilsen (sp) ratings system. No matter how advanced the rating system is, it’s a huge amount of guessing and postulation. And erstwhile good programming suffers because of it.

The internet isn’t going to save the TV broadcasters. It will be a cheaper (read: more profitable) outlet for their entertainment, but it will be the same crap on a different screen.

There are tons of professional writers who have great ideas for pilots – you know, quality stuff. These people are professional story creators, not bloated celebrity monkeys looking to cash in on their embarrassing TV moments.

TV networks and advertisers must give these stories and shows a chance to get out there and find an audience. Maybe if advertisers and TV bigwigs sat and watched a new show and decided for themselves if they like it or not (as if they had a clue what a good show is without ratings telling them), they’d have some faith in their convictions and help a good show get off the ground.

As to the CBS news, it makes sense. Box office is way up while TV is down. Anybody can do those numbers. If I had the option of producing TV or a feature film, the choice is clear.

an observer • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

CBS Films will not be distributed by Paramount. Les hates Paramount and after the screwing he got there, so does Bruce Tobey.

Robert • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

Ace is right. Moonves was savvy to recognize sitcoms remain viable, but most of the CBS sitcoms are unwatchable as the desperation factor increases. When desperation goes up, networks ramp up the scatological, women bashing, hooker/boob/penis “jokes.” You need to detox after watching these shows, if you can even get through them. What a waste. And, the rubber stamped conveyor belt of procedurals is tiresome. Stop the top heavy decisions, overpaying certain “stars” and cutting back where it counts to compensate for it. Execs should take pay cuts (gasp.) A known name doesn’t guarantee success, yet execs keep pressing the lever. Give quality a moment to breathe and let people find it again. Viewers did not stop watching tv. Viewers were driven from tv with all the garbage aired in the name of profits/stock price. Reality tv was always just a cycle that inevitably would burn out, it lasted longer than one would’ve expected because of the dearth of options. Now viewers are moving off tv entirely because the reality cycle is tapering. Box office is thriving because viewers are hungry for entertainment.

dionysus • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

Hey Nikki,
Couple more details, I’ve met with some of the people involved in the new division…

They’re going to shoot for 8 movies per year with budgets around 50M each. A couple movies will be bigger, they’ve bought the rights to some Tom Clancyish writer’s books (can’t remember the author’s name) and they plan to try and make a franchise out of it. So those action thrillers will probably be a little more than 50M…

I am pretty sure the first movie they’re making is called Beastly which is loosely based on beauty and the beast. No fx though, no cartoons, its a live action drama…

Reality • on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 pm

Why would CW shows do any better on NBC? NBC doesn’t have their audience and wider distribution doesn’t mean any more people would care about this teen niche shows. NBC has enough problems.